Ramadan Tips

Following are a few tips to help us make the most of Ramadan, inshallah. The main categories that I have divided them into are sleeping tips, exercise tips, eating tips, cooking tips, personal
worship tips and general/random tips. Of course, I don’t expect everyone
to apply all this at once because they are too many but apply as many
as possible and inshallah, Allah Azza Wajal will be there to help us.
Remember to keep checking back. I'll keep updating the post with a few
more tips, inshallah.

First, here is an analogy of Ramadan which I would like everyone to ponder over:

Suppose you were a student and there was this particular subject in which you hadn't been doing well at all. Now, when the year is about to end, the professor comes to you and tells you that I know that you've
been slackening in this subject throughout the year but I'll make a deal
with you. There is this test that will be conducted and if you manage
to score an A grade or more, I'll consider that your grade for the whole
year and discard all the other test results. What would you do? Throw
the offer back at his face or thank him and spend all the remaining time
preparing for that test. Similarly, Allah Azza Wajal has given us all
such an option. Think about it. This could be your last Ramadan. How
many people do you know who were here last Ramadan and aren't here
anymore? You could be one of them this time. Would you leave such an
offer? Only 30 days to work hard and you could be free from Hellfire,
all your sins from the past 20, 30, 60 or whatever number of years
you've been living!

Any suggestions, corrections etc. are welcome!

Hope we have a great Ramadan, inshallah!

Sleeping tips:

1. Make wudu with cold water just before sleeping!
People usually tend to think that doing wudu at this time, especially with cold water, might result in sleeplessness for a few
extra minutes, thus wasting more of their precious time. However, you'll
be surprised how that is not actually the case. Moreover, the Prophet
Muhammad (S) encouraged us to make wudu, just like we make for Salah,
before sleeping.

2. Read the following adhkar before going to sleep, at least the first one!
a. بسمك اللهم أموت و احي
b. Surah Mulk
c. Ayat ul Kursi

3. Make the intention of waking up at the time you decided and ask Allah Azza Wajal to wake you up at that time!
As will be shown later on in this post, you need to decide before you go to sleep a specific time to wake up. Moreover, you simply
cannot take the risk of sleeping in an unplanned way. You'll miss out on
a lot of Ajr if you do that.

4. Plan your sleep according to your sleep cycle!
Every person has a sleep cycle of, on average, 1:30 hours or 90 minutes. If you wake up in between a sleep cycle, i.e. between these 90
minutes, you feel very tired as if you had too little sleep as many of
you might have noticed. However, there are times when you wake up in a
very fresh mood, ready for the day. This is usually when you wake up
immediately after a sleep cycle finishes. Some people might still feel
tired after the 90 minutes period. No need to worry! The average sleep
cycle varies from 90 minutes to 100 minutes. With a little
experimentation, you'll soon be able to find out the exact time of your
sleep cycle, inshallah. However, make sure that you do it before Ramadan
starts so that you don't disrupt your Ramadan plan, even in the first
few days. Therefore, try to sleep for a time which is a multiple of 90
minutes.

5. Take power naps of about 20 minutes throughout the day, whenever you get time, at least once a day!
No fixed time but you could do it during your break from school or office, immediately after iftar etc. However, avoid it at Fajr time
because it is highly recommended by the Prophet Muhammad (S) to stay
awake at this time. It is usually not possible in most of the cases to
get a sleep which actually fulfills the requirement of 6 hours of rest
without missing Taraweeh and/or Tahajjud prayers. Therefore, along with
the sleep cycle management, this will, inshallah, keep you fresh
throughout the day!

Exercise tips:

1. A short jog/run early in the day!
You should take out about 5 to 10 minutes for this. Try taking care of this at Ishraq (sunrise) time. This is usually the time when the
person can afford this exercise because they have eaten Sehr recently.
Moreover, most of the Fajr prayer timings in the mosques in Ramadan are
usually shifted to about 10 to 15 minutes after the actual Fajr time
begins or Sehr time ends. Therefore, it might not be possible for
everyone to manage this properly in between that time. Reasons might
include the food that the person has eaten in Sehr and the short time
might actually be better spent in praying the Sunnahs of Fajr. Locate a
track near your home. It might even be the road in front of your house.
Set a specified distance in your mind and make a combination of jogging
one way while running the way back. This might vary from individual to
individual. The jogging part should remain the same for everyone while
the running part might be replaced with a jogging part or a brisk
walking part if the person thinks running would be too much for them.
Just to remind you again, make sure that this does not exceed more than
10 minutes because you've also got to spend the rest of the day in a
productive way. However, it should also not be less than 5 minutes.

2. Take an active part in going to the people in need of charity, food etc.!
Usually Muslims who are fasting tend to stay at home after their work/study. Though they do give more in charity, they only send it
to people who either come to them or send it through someone else to
the people they know need it. A better way would be to go yourself and
find the people who are in need. Even if you don't find anyone, which I
think must be highly unlikely, it'll still be beneficial to you in the
sense that you won't feel lazy.

3. For salah, walk to the mosque!
If you've got a mosque near your home or your office which isn't very far, i.e. it doesn't take you more than 10 minutes to walk
there, don't use the car unless you miss a commitment which you had made
or your work suffers. Let your legs work too. Moreover, you won't feel
that lazy anymore.

4. Workout a bit before Isha!
Once you're done with the Iftar (Iftar details will also be discussed later on in the post, inshallah), take a rest of about 20 to
45 minutes depending on the time that you have and then get yourself
warmed up by some light exercise. Don't exert yourself too much. Just a
few pushups accompanied with a leg exercise would be enough. Another
recommended exercise would be skipping. Go to the shop, buy a skipping
rope and enjoy skipping. All in all, this workout shouldn't exceed 5
minutes. Don't forget! You've got to be fit for Qiyam ul Lail too.

Eating tips:

1. Make sure you don't miss Sehr!
A lot of people, especially those who've got obesity problem, think that missing Sehr would be a good way to keep them healthy and
burn their fats down. However, they usually end up being the laziest and
then they eat so much after Iftar that instead of decreasing their
weight, it increases it.

2. Remember not to eat too much at Sehr time!
Those who usually eat Sehr eat so much that they can't even move for a few minutes. Make sure that you eat in moderation. The
Prophet Muhammad (S) instructed us to compartmentalize our stomach into
three equal parts. You should eat as much as that which will be enough
for the first part. Then you should drink as much as that which will be
enough for the second part. The third part should be left empty. Make
sure that you do not eat oily or acidic food. Watery and/or green food
would be a much better option.

3. Don't eat too much at Iftar!
The general routine that the majority of the people follow is that they eat their dinner along with the Iftar. A better way would be
to eat a couple of dates, maybe a samosa or some similar snack and drink
water. You'd be surprised to find out that you won't feel as hungry as
you expected. In fact, you might not even notice the fact that you
haven't eaten dinner. Note that it is a highly recommended act to open
the fast with a date. If no dates are available, the recommendation goes
to opening it with water.

4. Eat your dinner just before Isha!
It was mentioned earlier that light food should be eaten in Iftar. Then, you take a rest for about 45 minutes, maybe have one of the
power naps mentioned above. After that, do some light exercise for
about 5 minutes. Now, this exercising should make you very hungry. So
you eat dinner keeping in mind the compartmentalization technique
narrated from the Prophet Muhammad (S) right after the exercise which
will be some time before you go for Isha.

5. Eat after you come back from Taraweeh!
After you come back, have some light snacks immediately. Don't eat too much! Remember that you've got to eat Sehr too.

Cooking tips:

1. Make a plan for the daily Sehr and Iftar menu!
This will save you a lot of time as you won’t have to decide everyday what to make. Make a list of your housemates’ favourite foods.
Get a blank calendar from a nearby shop and jot down the different foods
that you plan to make on different days. Create a shopping list. Label
the groceries and other cooking stuff that you buy so that you don’t
have difficulty in distinguishing the different types of food while they
are frozen.

2. Buy in bulk!
Remember that you’ve got to save time for other activities during Ramadan. Buying in bulk would mean that you would have to go to
the stores less. You can then utilize this time better by engaging in
some other activities. This will also help you if some surprise guests
show up for Sehr or Iftar.

3. Prepare the cooking stuff well in time!
Specify a time every day for preparing the stuff, such as washing the meat and adding salt to it etc., that you’ll need to cook.
Make it early in the day so that you won’t be very tense about the lack
of time in the evening especially near Iftar time when you’re feeling
very tired.

4. Clean as you work!
Normally, you would have to take out some extra time to clean your kitchen and the dishes etc. after Sehr or Iftar. This does take a
lot of time. However, if you clean as you prepare the stuff and cook,
you’ll be left with very little work to do once the dishes are brought
in for washing.

5. Stay hydrated as you cook!
Although most people don’t take care of this, this is very important to maintain one’s energy in the kitchen. Though you cannot
drink during fasting, remember to open the windows and doors and turn on
the fan to diffuse out the heat more quickly. Of course, after Iftar,
if you’ve specified a time for cooking too, remember to have enough
drinks.

6. Use the leftovers wisely!
Most people tend to cook more than what is required. Remember to use these leftovers in the next meal. This would actually result in
saving a lot of preparation and cooking time. If you were expecting
guests and no one came, you could even use these leftovers alone for the
next meal if they are enough.

7. Have a backup meal ready and set the table before sleeping!
There are times when your sleeping plan doesn’t work out as you expected it to and when you wake up, you realize that it’s too late to
make anything. Have a backup meal ready for such occasions. Moreover,
set the table before you go to sleep so that you don’t have to waste
time for that in the morning when you’re feeling sleepier than usual.

8. Do dhikr while cooking!
Most people don’t talk much while cooking especially if they’re cooking alone. If you’re one of those people, you could utilize this
time in doing dhikr or revising some Surah that you have memorized.

9. Utilize the extra hands that you might have!
If you’ve got a huge household, there might be people who aren’t doing anything at all and would be able to help you in your
cooking. Ask them to do errands for you. However, if you think that the
person might actually cause you to waste more time, send him on an
errand which won’t involve you at all knowing that he’ll be able to
manage it alright.

10. Remember to pray for barakah (blessing) in your time!
Though you might have very little time for cooking, you could finish everything in that little time if you’ve got barakah in it.
Remember to ask Allah Azza Wajal to provide you with that.

Personal worship tips:

1. Make sure your intentions are only for Allah Azza Wajal's regardless of what you're doing, may it even be work!
Intentions are very important for every action. Scholars say that the person will not be rewarded if he does not have the right
intention. Some people are shy and, therefore, hold the view that the
intention cannot be to achieve paradise or to marry hoor al-ayn.
However, most of the scholars say that such intentions are also valid
for expecting reward from Allah Azza Wajal. Though the best intention
would be to please Allah Azza Wajal.

2. Put sincerity in your Salah!
Don’t treat your Salah like something you hate and you’re forced to do it. This perspective will usually get you late at the
mosque. Put love and sincerity in it and perform it as perfectly as you
can. You’ll be surprised how much you enjoy it. In other words, you have
to do it either way so better have fun with it.

3. Wake up early in the morning, or rather, late at night, for Tahajjud!
Calculate the time between Maghrib and Fajr. Divide it by 3. The 3rd part will be the one in which the Ajr for Qiyam ul Lail is
greatest. Note the time that you're sleeping on. Calculate the likely
times for you to wake up considering in mind the sleep cycle time.
Choose the multiple of the sleep cycle time which is nearest to the
Tahajjud time that you calculated. Tune your alarm clock for that time.
Wake up and pray as many rakahs (in 2s) as possible before you start
Sehr. Make sure your sujood, rukoohs and every part of Salah is much
much more longer than usual and that you make dua during Salah
especially during Sujood.

4. Make sure that you do not miss even a Sunnah! In fact, add a few nawafil too!
According to one Hadith, in Ramadan, the reward of a nafl reaches the reward of a Sunnah, the reward of a Sunnah reaches the
reward of a fardh and the reward of a fardh is increased by 70 times.
Now, I don't think any sensible person would want to miss out on such a
profitable business!

5. Make sure you make it to the mosque 5 times a day!
If you don't usually go to the mosque, start getting regular. If you are already regular, try making it to the very first row every
time. If you are already able to reach to the first row every time, try
being the one who stands directly behind the Imam or if the Muezzin
stands there, aim for the position next to him. Moreover, make sure you
never get late just like you try never to get late to school or work
because this is actually much more important. In case you live in a
non-Muslim country and there’s no mosque near your house, get a few of
your Muslim neighbors to arrange a place where you people can gather
together for the Salah. If you’re married and there’s proper arrangement
for women, take your wife along. Take your children along too if you
think they won’t disturb the people during Salah.

6. Start memorizing the Quran!
Take some time out in the morning and evening and start memorizing the short Surahs of the Quran especially the ones you take a
special liking to. The recommended time would be before Ishraq (sunrise)
and before Maghrib (sunset), in other words at Fajr time and at Asr
time. Remember you get rewards for memorizing this whereas you won’t get
anything for memorizing the songs which most people usually listen to.
Rather, in a lot of cases, you get sins due to their explicit lyrics.

7. Read the Quran and understand it!
Not everyone gets enough time for memorizing passages but most can take out enough time for reading those passages. Leave your books,
especially the fiction ones, stop watching useless programs on TV and
pick up the Quran for a month, at least. If you’re a non-Arabic speaking
Muslim, it won’t take a lot of effort to read its translation, in your
language, along. Though you won’t get rewards for reading the
translation however, if you follow what you read, the reward might
exceed much more than the 10 words per letter method.

8. Make wudu before every Salah!
Usually, the Prophet Muhammad (S) would make wudu before every Salah so put that into practice. Though that doesn’t mean reading more
than one Salah with the same wudu isn’t allowed. At the time of Hajj, he
(S) prayed more than one Salah with the same wudu just to show the
people that it is allowed. Make sure that you don’t delay it till the
last minute. Do it as soon as you get time. You might have to suddenly
go somewhere and might not get enough time for doing wudu again.

9. Pray your Sunnah and Nawafil Salahs at home!
The Prophet Muhammad (S) recommended people to pray their fardh salahs at the mosque and the other extra ones at home. Though that
doesn’t mean you delay it beyond the time or miss it if you know you
won’t be able to reach home by then.

10. Leave the bidahs and replace them with the Sunnahs!
Overtime practices that had nothing to do with Islam were introduced by many new Muslims. Though not all were introduced with the
intention of corrupting the Islam, they still shouldn’t be practiced as
the Prophet Muhammad (S) told us that bidahs (innovations) lead to
dhalala (misguidance) which, in turn, leads to naar (hellfire). Compare
your practices with those of the Prophet Muhammad (S) and leave the ones
which contradict the Sunnah.

11. Remember to make dhikr!
Remembering Allah Azza Wajal through dhikr is the one thing which the people of Paradise will regret not doing enough. Find out the
adhkar to which the Prophet Muhammad (S) attached special importance,
such as سبحان اللہ و بحمدہ سبحان اللہ العظیم, reciting Surah al-Kahf on
Fridays etc., and keep on reciting them as much as possible whenever you
remember. You do not have to take out a specific time for it. Just do
it whenever you’re doing something which doesn’t require talking whether
it’s at work or at school or at a train station.

12. Go for Salat ut Taraweeh!
Most of the mosques arrange for Salat ut Taraweeh after the Isha Salah. Try making it there every night. If you’re an Arabic
speaking Muslim, pay special attention to what is being recited.
However, that does not mean that the non-Arabic speaking Muslims let
their thoughts wander away. They should also concentrate on their Salah.
Maybe they could read the translation early on in the day so that it
helps them understand what is being recited. Again, the same applies
here, as mentioned previously, that you should arrange for it yourself
if no such arrangement has already been made. Moreover, the married
Muslim men should try to take their wives along too if there is proper
arrangement. Children should only be taken if you’re sure that they
won’t disturb the people during Salah.

13. Spend more on the needy!
In every community, there are poor and needy people. Buy them food and surprise them by making it an anonymous gift. It is narrated
that many of the Salaf (pious predecessors) used to provide food to the
needy of their community without them finding out who it was who was
helping them. They would only find out when that person died and they
stopped receiving food. Most of the children like to play around, ring
their neighbor’s doorbell and run away. Go do that to some needy person
but remember to leave some food on the doorstep. Of course, for the ones
without a house, you’ll have to find them and give it to them
personally.

General/Random tips:

1. Get rid of your music and songs!
If you’re addicted to music, now’s the best time to leave it. Listen to nasheeds instead of your songs. If you already listen to
nasheeds, try leaving that and start listening to the recitation of the
Quran. Many CDs are available which contain the translation of what is
being recited. Such CDs might prove helpful to you if you’re a
non-Arabic speaking Muslim. Of course, the best course would be to
directly leave your music and start listening to the recitation of the
Quran. However, that is usually not possible for a lot of Muslims
because they cannot adopt to that so quickly. Make a list of the audio
which you’ve decided to listen to and burn them on a CD to listen to in
your car while you driving or if you’ve got an iPod, sync it with that
list. With regards to the recitation of the Quran, keep in mind that you
don’t want to get attached to the recitor. Rather, you should get
attached to what is being recited, i.e. the Quran.

2. If you’re travelling, make sure you don’t fast!
Most travelling Muslims tend to think that it is in their best interest to fast Ramadan. However, their fardh of fasting is delayed
till the time they reach back home. Fasting in such a condition wouldn’t
be very productive. They’ll feel the tiredness of fasting as well as
that of travelling and they won’t be able to do much. A better way to
utilize Ramadan would be to delay the fasting till they reach home. As
most of us know, the Prophet Muhammad (S) told us that the Shayateen are
trapped in this blessed month. That would mean that you’ve got only
your Qareen (personal Shaitan) to overcome. Most travelling Muslims are
able to complete their fasts easily after Ramadan. However, for many of
the other activities, such as Qiyam ul Lail, it isn’t that easy. Try
putting these difficult ones into practice at this easy time so that
it’s much easier to continue them through the rest of the year. In
short, focus on other recommended difficult actions rather than fasting
unless you’re sure that fasting won’t affect you much.

3. Plan your day hour by hour!
Has it ever happened that you planned to memorize a Surah, pray more than 20 rakahs (other than the 5 Salahs and Qiyam ul Lail), visit a
few relatives and friends and do much more but you end up doing nothing
at all? That’s because you plan your day as a whole. Now what happens
is that you keep on delaying your plans thinking that you’ve got enough
time until it’s too late and you can’t do anything then. The solution to
this would be to create an hourly schedule. When you know that you’ve
got to finish a few tasks in this hour, you’ll realize that you’ve got
less time to complete it and so you won’t delay it. You can use the Taskinator by Productive Muslim or the Ramadan Checklist by iloveallaah.com, HeartWheel Journal or the Ramadan Diary by iloveallaah.com. You could even use them all at once.

4. Review yourself every day!
Specify a certain time of the day when you review what you’ve done in your day, what you need to improve and what mistakes you need to
correct. Allot at least 5 minutes for that but make sure you do it the
same time every day. Otherwise, you’ll do it for a few days and that
will be the end of it. When you’ve got an allotted time for it, you’ll
know that you have to do it at that time and so you won’t miss it and do
something else instead. Moreover, whenever something bad happens,
review yourself to check whether you made any mistake or you neglected
something important which might have caused Allah Azza Wajal to send you
this reminder. Though that doesn’t mean that you do not take care of
the apparent problem too.

5. Try to stay clear of the fitan (trials)!
If you know that there is a certain act which might lead you to sinning, don’t do it. Of course, that applies to actions which are not
Sunnah or fardh. A good example in this case might be the order of
lowering the gaze. The usual practice of the Muslims is that they lower
the gaze when they feel the need to. However, a better approach to this
would be to lower your gaze unless you need to do otherwise. In other
words, don’t let the temptation of sinning come to you at all.

6. Remain in wudu all day long!
Make sure that whenever your wudu breaks, you do it again. The Salafs (pious predecessors) realized the fact that death could overtake a
person anytime. They would, therefore, carry with them some water
whenever they would travel so that if their wudu was to break, they
could immediately redo it as they did not wish to meet Allah Azza Wajal
in a state of impurity.

7. Make a dua list!
Take some time out to compile a short list of duas that you would wish to be accepted. Write them down on a piece of paper and ask
Allah Azza Wajal frequently to accept them, especially during the last
ten days of Ramadan.

8. Remember to pray for the Mujahideen fighting in the way of Allah Azza Wajal!
Remember, Ramadan is the month of conquests. Most of the Ramadans that the Prophet Muhammad (S) spent, in which both Jihad and
fasting was prescribed, he was out fighting. Moreover, a lot of
difficult wars and sieges in which the Muslims had started despairing
were won by the Muslims in this month. That was also the reason why many
non-Muslims would also be out during the last days of Shaban to check
when the month of conquest would start so they should be more cautious.
Many of the Mujahideen nowadays have either been driven out of their
homes or have voluntarily left the comforts of their homes to protect
the Muslim Ummah while we, instead of helping them, distance ourselves
from them as much as possible. If you know a Mujahid or a family of a
Mujahid, help them out if they're in need. Usually, the families of the
Shuhadaa are neglected by our communities. The Prophet Muhammad (S)
taught us that financing a Mujahid gets you the same reward as that of a
Mujahid. Find such families and help them. Go visit the prisoners too
and help them as much as possible. Remember it is a fardh upon us to
free those Muslim prisoners which we are neglecting.

9. Don’t be undecisive!
Usually, Muslims take a lot of time in taking decisions especially in Ramadan when they’ve got to prioritize their activities.
This leads to wastage of a huge amount of valuable time which could be
better used in other activities. You could cope with this in a better
way by planning your activities and prioritizing them beforehand.

10. Avoid evil company!
Make sure that you don’t sit with people who are not pious or do not try to become pious. One of the scholars of the Salaf (pious
predecessors) was asked whether people should sit in a gathering where
the environment is such that you start getting an uncomfortable feeling
of the fear of death or should they sit with another gathering where the
environment is much more relaxed but the people aren’t that pious. He
replied by saying that the gathering in which there is fear of death
should be the choice of the questioners.

11. Leave your bad habits!
Is there a film or a drama season which you have formed the habit of watching and you know that it’s a bad habit? Or are you
addicted to smoking or some other drugs? Now’s the best time for you to
get rid of it. Increase your other activities so much that you don’t get
enough time for such bad habits. It usually takes 30 to 60 days for a
person to form or leave a habit. You've already got 30 days of Ramadan.
Add the 30 days of Shawwaal too and you'll be able to leave these bad
habits easily, inshallah. Though this might come under another point
which I mentioned above, I thought it necessary to include it here too.

12. Remember death often and cry often!
Death is the one thing which none of us can deny facing. Anytime now, the angel of death could knock on our door. Suppose if
today was your last day on this Earth, would you be happy to leave it
keeping in mind what lies ahead of you? If not, then try living everyday
of your life as you would live your last day, in remembering Allah Azza
Wajal etc., because who knows? Today might actually be your last day!
Listen to lectures which remind you of Allah Azza Wajal, death and the
Hereafter. Moreover, you should cry often due to the fear of Allah Azza
Wajal. This might even be in your Salah. The Prophet Muhammad (S)
mentioned 7 people who would be given shade on the Day of Judgement. Of
them, one will be the one who cries when he is alone out of fear of
Allah Azza Wajal.

13. Remember not to neglect your studies and work!
Remember not to neglect your work, or studies if you’re a student, because it is your fardh to provide your family with the basic
necessities of life and as a student, it is your duty to study. Try to
strike a balance between your activities in Ramadan and your work load.
Don’t sacrifice a fardh for the sake of a recommended action.

14. Do the more important stuff early, in the morning!
Since you would have recently eaten Sehr, you would be the most energetic early in the morning. Try doing the more important activities
at this time. Though that does not mean that you do all the tiring stuff
at this time. That way you won't have any energy left for the rest of
the day.

15. Be consistent!
The Prophet Muhammad (S) encouraged us to be consistent in whatever we do instead of doing something in a huge amount at one time and then
slackening off. It would be better if you recite 1 juz (part) of the
Quran daily rather than reciting 20 juz in one day and then reciting
nothing at all.

16. Prepare for the few days before Ramadan!
Suppose you've got an enemy who is about to leave your neighborhood. What would he do before leaving? He would try his best to somehow harm
you as much as possible. Now, your greatest enemy, Shaitan, is about to
leave for a month and he'll try his best to get you entangled in some
mess which you won't be able to get out of until he comes back. Make
sure you keep praying to Allah Azza Wajal to protect you from Shaitan
and his evil plans and that you increase in doing good deeds and try
your best to stay away from fitans (trials and tribulations) so that
Shaitan cannot get a hold of you


16. Keep in mind that this is only a training period!
A training period is when you’ve got ideal conditions to
practice something. However, when you get out of that training, you
realize that those ideal conditions never exist in life. Ramadan is also
such a period in which the Shayateen (devils) have been trapped by
Allah Azza Wajal in order for us to practice. However, we have to
realize that the rest of the year won’t be like this while we have to
carry out our activities the same way, or at least nearest to it. Be
determined and remember that Shaytan won’t gain access to your hear
unless you allow him and that verily, Allah is sufficient as a Helper.

Children Tips:

1. Hold meetings about Ramadan!
Invite all the kids that you think need to know and will be able to come and give them a short lecture on Ramadan. Make sure that you keep them
involved in the lecture by asking them questions, making the lecture
humorous and giving them a Ramadan gift pack which includes dua books, Taskinator, Ramadan Checklist, HeartWheel Journal and Ramadan Diary and encourage them to use it.

2. Welcome the month with excitements!
Get some balloons and some toffees etc. and have a celebration exclusively for children. Remember that this is only to develop their
interest in Ramadan and shouldn't be made a custom. Distribute Ramadan
gift packs in schools accompanied with a couple of short sentences
telling them what Ramadan is actually about. You could even ask the
teacher or ask the children at home to make Ramadan drawings and crafts
such as the sighting of moon etc.

3. Narrate some Ramadan stories!
You should remember many Ramadan incidents when you were young: how was your first fast, what fun you used to have in this month when you were
young etc.? Tell them to your children as bedtime stories. Go a bit
further and narrate stories of the Salaf (pious predecessors) in Ramadan
which you think might motivate the children.

4. Conduct a moon sighting trip!
On the 29th and 30th of Shaban and Ramadan, take them on an outing and give them the challenge of searching for the moon. Give a small prize to
the one who sights it first to encourage them.

5. Let them fast, even for a short while!
Usually, kids want to fast as they see their parents and older siblings do it. Encourage them to fast, even if they fast only for a few hours.
Prepare special Iftar for them whenever they open their fast. Though
make sure that they don't get accustomed to the gifts. Instill in them
the importance of the sincerity of intentions.

6. Arrange a kids only Iftar party!
Invite their friends over for an Iftar party. Remember to make it exciting by gifts and special foods. Though make sure that they don't
get in the habit of eating too much. After the Iftar, ask their
grandmother or some elder to narrate their own experience to them when
they were growing up.

7. Make them remember the poor!
Make them do some volunteer work in which they see the hunger of the poor people, especially children of their own age, and feed them. You'll
be surprised how much they'll be affected when they see children of
their own age suffering from a lack of food and other basic necessities.

8. Make and send cards!
Usually, children are very excited to make cards. Ask them to make cards for welcoming Ramadan and Eid and send them to their friends and
relatives.

9. Take them to the mosque!
Get them in the habit of offering Salah in the mosque and take them for Taraweeh prayers too. Though make sure that they do not disturb the
people in Salah.

Source: http://islamicb.blogspot.com/2010/08/ramadan-tips.html